de improviso = al improviso (but the latter isn't used in Spanish nowadays)
Both mean 'suddenly' and are synonymous with 'de repente'.
Note that the spelling differs from what you posted/have encountered. Perhaps the addition of the 't' is regional in Spain, but others in Spain say it's 'improviso'.
Saying 'al improviso' isn't disparaging, it's just two hundred or so years old. People might give you strange looks for that fact alone.
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